CNN poll: Wisconsin in play

A new poll out from CNN today, conducted entirely after the Ryan announcement, shows that his presence on the ticket puts his traditionally blue home state in play for November:

According to the CNN/ORC International survey, which was conducted entirely after Romney added Ryan to the GOP ticket, 49% of registered voters in Wisconsin say they back President Barack Obama, with 45% supporting Romney. The president's 4 point advantage over the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is within the survey's sampling error.

Two other polls conducted last week, before the Ryan announcement, indicated the president holding a single digit advantage in a state he won by 14 points in the 2008 presidential election.

The poll also shows Ryan with high approval ratings in a state that's already very familiar with him:

[T]he survey does indicate Ryan's popular in his home state. His favorable rating, at 50%, is actually higher than Romney's, and 56% of all Wisconsinites say that Ryan is qualified to serve as president if necessary, and most rate Romney's pick of Ryan as excellent or pretty good.

Republicans started talking about the possibility that they could be competitive in Wisconsin earlier this summer, when Gov. Scott Walker won his recall election with a healthy 7-point margin. Ryan's presence on the ticket makes that GOP hope of turning Wisconsin red much more plausible.